Aftermath Scars
by R. Recollect
Summary: It's been one month since the incident on the BOTTLE SHIP and Samus is having trouble putting the past to rest. Back then, she'd been unable to act, unable to stop what had happened. Can she regain her confidence? PTSD Awareness. For ParadiseAvenger.


Hello. This is **R**.

Welcome to my story, Aftermath Scars.

This story is based on the Metroid series and takes place one month after the events of Metroid: Other M.

This story addresses PTSD and its effect in life. I wrote this story because I felt outraged at the reactions to Samus's PTSD shown when she fights Ridley. FYI, She's had it all her life, and if you look closely in some games, like Zero Mission and Prime, you'll find hints of her disorder. She's ALWAYS been scared to fight Ridley, and none of you really have any right to ridicule her for it. PTSD is a serious disorder, but some of you just choose to be insensitive. Someone went as far as to say that the Samus in Other M, where her PTSD is most noticeable, is actually a clone of our favorite hunter. She's not the only one who suffers this treatment. Many war veterans and soldiers in real life suffer from both the disorder, and the abuse. Seriously people, it's bad enough already. Here are some statistics gathered from a PTSD website. Some of you might want to look at this stuff.

*** The negative effects of trauma may include the avoidance of memory triggers, amnesia, intrusive thoughts, distressing dreams, flashbacks, irritability, and a reduced ability to concentrate, experience pleasure, feel tender emotions, and imagine a positive future.**

*** The more severe women's PTSD, the more likely they are to experience physical symptoms, such as shortness of breath, headaches, joint pain, and abdominal pain. Men may under-report psychiatric symptoms and develop other responses, such as alcohol/drug abuse, conduct disorders, and violence.**

*** Research has shown that exposure to combat results in considerable risk of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression, substance abuse, impairment in social functioning, an inability to work, and the increased use of health care services.**

And now, I present to you, Aftermath Scars. I do not own Metroid.

~**For** **ParadiseAvenger**

Samus sighed as she tied her hair into a ponytail. She put on her jacket and began to walk towards the transport that led to Galactic Federation HQ. As she got on, she could hear a child's voice chirping excitedly as she boarded the transport.

"Mom! Mom! Is that Samus Aran?"

"Yes dear, that's her."

"That's so coool! She flies in a spaceship and battles Space Pirates! Bam! Bam!"

"She's done plenty good in the galaxy. Fighting fearlessly the way she does." Another voice said. "If it were me, I don't think I'd stand a chance!"

By then, other passengers on the transport were beginning to try and get a better view of the hunter. Within minutes, almost everyone was talking about her efforts.

"I heard she blew up a spaceship full of pirates!"

"That's nothing! I heard she blew up a whole planet full of pirates!"

"I heard she rescued a frigate full of people!"

By the time they were talking about the Phazon Crisis, the transport had finally reached its destination. Samus stepped off the transport, careful not to trip and fall over as she approached the build that was the Galactic Federation HQ. As the Transport left for its next stop, Samus felt glad to be off the transport. She couldn't help but think of what those people thought of her. Brave? Fearless? They didn't know what they were talking about. They didn't know that Samus wasn't the brave warrior they thought she was. The Galactic Savior wasn't supposed to be scared of anything. She couldn't afford to be.

Not after her parents died.

Not after Grey Voice died.

Not after Ian died.

She couldn't do anything to help Ghor, Rundas, or Gandrayda either.

Or the Baby.

Or Adam…

Samus walked to the elevator and entered it. After ascending to the floor she wanted to go to, she walked into the cafeteria and took a seat. She wasn't hungry, or thirsty for that matter. She wasn't sure of anything lately. All she could think about was that time, on the _BOTTLE SHIP_…

_The dark room was gradually illuminated as the lava flowed into the empty space surrounding the platform. With a better view, Samus scanned the area with her Power Suit's visor, searching for whatever was hunting them in the dark. With the room alight, there was nowhere to hide. Suddenly, a winged form flew up from the chasm, behind Samus. Readying her blaster, she turned around to face the enemy._

_What Samus saw made her gasp with disbelief. She could see the silhouette of a great, dragon-like creature. It was about twelve feet high with a wingspan of about eighteen feet. It had a long tail with a jagged spearhead on its end. Samus' eyes widened at the sight of her archnemesis, the figure of her nightmares, the Space Pirate who murdered her parents and countless others. Ridley._

_Samus stared in horror as Ridley landed, leering at Samus with his razor sharp talons and teeth. Samus began hyperventilating. She couldn't breathe. Suddenly, she was three years old again. She could do little more than whimper and cower as Ridley started advancing on her. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything. She was helpless. She could barely hear Adam's voice screaming at her to blast Ridley with her Plasma Beam. Suddenly, Ridley grabbed Samus with his talons and took flight. She could do nothing but scream as Ridley scraped her against the chamber walls. The emotional distress was causing her Power Suit to malfunction, reverting to her Zero Suit, rendering her defenseless before Ridley's flames. Suddenly, she heard a voice scream "Let her GO!" Next thing she knew, a powerful surge of pure Plasma just barely missed the Space Pirate commander. Startled, Ridley dropped Samus, who tried to calm herself down, get her suit back. She turned in the trajectory of the Plasma Beam that saved her. It was her friend, Anthony Higgs._

_Anthony was wearing a standard GF suit. His dark-skinned face was contorted with anger, concentrating his aim on Ridley while his Plasma Cannon charged. While the Cannon took an agonizingly long time to charge, its blasts were capable of piercing the greatest defenses. But now, it would take a while to recharge. _

"_Hey! Hey punk! Don't you know how to treat a lady!" Anthony screamed. By then, Ridley had taken flight once more and was flying dangerously close to Anthony. "Man, you got no style! I think I'm gonna have teach you a lesson about subtlety! COME ON!" Anthony shouted. As though enticed by the soldier's dare, Ridley glided closer to Anthony, who readied his Plasma Cannon. "Anthony! Don't do it!" Samus screamed, but it was too late. When Ridley landed, Anthony prepared to dodge whatever the Space Pirate had to throw, but Ridley caught Anthony by surprise by sweeping his tail, slamming the spearhead into Anthony, causing him to fall into the lava pit below…_

Samus sighed. It'd been over a month since that incident. She managed to fend off her nemesis once more, and found that Anthony had miraculously survived the fall by using his Freeze gun to encase a Maglodite, a lava dwelling creature, in ice. Using the frozen creature as a foothold, he was able to escape. Samus was happy he survived, but the fact remained that she couldn't do anything to help herself, or her Anthony.

"Hey! Hey, Princess!"

Oh. Speak of the devil. It was Anthony.

Anthony was his usual grinning self as he sat down across from Samus. Placing his lunch tray on the flat surface to the table, he took a bite of his sandwich. After swallowing, he said "I heard Dr. Bergman's gonna testify about what happened on the _BOTTLE SHIP_… When he saw the look on her face, he frowned. "Why so glum?" he asked. Samus said nothing. She didn't feel like talking. "C'mon, Samus." He said seriously. "I know something's bugging you. And it's bugging me too-"

"Why am I still alive?" Samus interrupted.

"Huh?"

Why am I still alive? I should've died that time. On the _BOTTLE SHIP_…"

"…So that's what it is."

Samus and Anthony turned to see Admiral Dane standing before them with a lunch tray. The Admiral had a solemn look on his face, a look of knowing. "Samus, you should know that you're not the only one in the Federation who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." He took a seat next to Anthony.

"I've seen many, many losses in battle. I couldn't forget the faces of those men. Their last words. The look on their families' faces whenever I had to break the news." Dane said gravely. "No human can enter the battlefield and not return unscathed. Whether it's physical or emotional doesn't matter. You're scarred either way. But you were forced to bear that pain at such a young age. I'm not surprised you went into that state of panic."

"But I've fought Ridley! I killed him! Multiple times!" Samus argued. "There's no reason I should be scared of him now!"

"Samus, you killed him. For good. That was nothing more than some copy you fought. A ghost, so to speak." Dane countered. "He was nothing more than a memory at that point. He was _dead. _Done. Gone. It would've surprised anyone to see that monster alive once more. And didn't you tell me of another time you panicked on Zebes?

That was true, Samus thought. That was not the only time she'd went into a panic attack when facing Ridley. On Zebes, yes. And every other time after that, though the feeling slowly but surely melted away. By the time of their final encounter on Zebes, she felt merely anxiety upon seeing him, and only for half a second. Dane was right. That fight on Zebes was the end of it. Ridley was gone for good. She was able to let her guard down, and when she fought the clone Ridley, the panic attacks returned with a vengeance.

And she still beat him. Yes, she was scared beyond belief with each encounter, but she won every single time. There was no denying that. It was like warming up to a pool of cold water; immediately alien at first, but it became natural. The cold temperature still existed, but it wasn't as bad. The most recent fight was like taking that first plunge once more, but history, like always, repeated itself. It wasn't bad for her to feel afraid. Anyone would, she told herself.

"Enjoying your lunch, Aran?" A rather cold voice said from behind her.

Everyone looked to see a man in a Federation uniform standing before them. He wore a stony face, masking his feelings. The badge signifying the rank of a Colonel was pinned to his chest. Dane looked indifferent. Anthony frowned. Samus however narrowed her eyes. The Colonel was thought to be one of the ringleaders in the Federation responsible for the disastrous incident on the _BOTTLE SHIP_. Evidence of this included the fact that he attempted to stop Samus from securing the safety of key witness Madeline Bergman, saying that with the entire Platoon 7 annihilated, Samus was nothing more than an outsider. But as luck had it, Anthony survived, stating that his orders were to secure the safety of all survivors. As if to add to the suspicion, the Colonel seemed visibly outraged at his survival. So it wasn't exactly a welcoming sight to see him here like this.

"I certainly hope you've been putting a leash on your actions, Aran? No infant Metroids to transport?"

"That's enough."

Admiral Dane had risen from his seat. Samus noticed his fists were clenched. Although he was wearing gloves, she could tell his knuckles had whitened.

"Colonel, I certainly hope you've been keeping your temper in check. No witnesses to keep quiet?" Dane said calmly.

The Colonel was visibly incensed for a moment, but retained his composure.

"I'll leave you to your lunch. I have deserters to track down and haul in. It truly is a shame when a soldier is too afraid to perform their duty. Good day. Aran. Higgs. Admiral."

As the Colonel left, Samus couldn't help but wonder; was that last sentence directed at her? Was he alluding to her disorder? It didn't matter. Her disorder might never truly disappear, but she'd fight anyway. She was Samus Aran, galactic savior, and nothing would change that.

There. I don't care if I get flamed for this, because it's TRUE. Nothing will change the fact that Samus has PTSD, and nobody's opinion can change that. Thank you for reading this. Please rate and review.


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